No Kill Policy
by MUZBNUTS
Summary: What would you do if an enemy hurt someone you loved? How far would you go? Huntress is about to find out.
1. Default Chapter

Thanks to all of the praise and support I've received over the past couple of months writing Love and Betrayal, I've decided to continue writing Birds of Prey fanfic until I run out of ideas. This new story takes place after Devil's Eyes. Love and Betrayal is a source of background for this story as well. Keep in mind that I don't own any of the characters in this story, except those that I made up in my overactive brain. The rest belong to DC and the WB. Enjoy! And a word of thanks to some very special people who let me bounce some ideas off them, giving me a hand when I needed one, and hell when I needed to be kept in line (LOL): Thanks Justine, Jon, Angie, and Bethany!  
The bell rang at New Gotham High School and students jumped out of the chairs headed for the door of the classroom. It wasn't that they couldn't wait to get away from their teacher. Barbara Gordon somehow made Shakespeare an exciting and fun experience for them. No, the reason why the students in Barbara's 8th period class ran for the door the moment the bell rang was actually quite simple and could be explained in two words: Spring Break. As the last student filed out the door, Barbara felt a sense of relief as well. She, too, loved Spring Break. It wasn't like she stopped working during the break. No, teaching wasn't her only job - sometimes it wasn't even the most rewarding of the two. But with no classes to teach, no tests to grade, no lesson plans to go over, Barbara could concentrate on her night job. She sighed as she cleared her notes from the blackboard. She knew that most people would have a hard time understanding just what it was she did at night and why she did it. Most people would not want to spend their free time hunting down the denizens of New Gotham's criminal underworld. They wouldn't want the responsibility or the danger that went with the job. But, Barbara loved the feeling she got every time one of New Gotham's criminals was brought to justice. Barbara turned her wheelchair to face her desk and gathered her papers together. She was thinking that she might go home and start checking the Delphi Monitor early, when she heard a commotion just outside the classroom door. In bounded too giggling blonde teenagers. "Hi, Barbara!" Dinah cried, dropping her books on Barbara's desk. "Hey, Miss G.," Gabby, Dinah's best friend said, grinning from ear to ear. "Hi girls," Barbara responded. "Ready to go." "Are you kidding?! All day long, I kept counting down the minutes!" was Dinah's reply. "Tell me about it," Gabby nudged Dinah's arm playfully. "You're eyes were glued to the clock eighth period. Did you even hear a word Mr. Haskins said?" Dinah laughed. "Something about loving Spring Break?" she joked. Barbara couldn't help but laugh. The girls' mood was infectious. "Okay, let's go." Dinah grabbed Barbara's briefcase, shooting a conspiratorial look at Gabby. "Uh, Barbara, I was wondering. Do we have to go home right away? Maybe we can visit with Helena at the Dark Horse?" Barbara narrowed her eyes. These two are plotting something, she thought. "And what makes you think that I want to go to the Dark Horse Bar?" Barbara teased. "Oh, c'mon, Barbara. Let's celebrate. No school for a week!" Dinah's eyes pleaded her case. "Yeah, Miss G. It's not often I can go in there without getting tossed out for being underage," Gabby added. Barbara had wanted to get right to work. Something told her Dinah knew that, hence the suggested side trip. But Barbara was in a good mood. "Oh well, why not?" "YES!" The two girls gave each other a high five.  
  
Helena Kyle sent a beer sliding down the bar for Cosmo, a regular customer, with a smile. Life was good these days. For a change, Helena had nothing to worry over and nothing to be angry about. Things in Helena Kyle's life had begun changing for the better lately - her mother's killer had been brought to justice, New Gotham's biggest bad since the Joker - Harley Quinn - was in Arkham, and she had a man in her life. Yep, she thought, leaning against the bar and gazing toward the window, things are definitely looking up. "Hey, Kyle, quit daydreaming. We got customers need serving here!" Helena smiled. Not even Leonard, Helena's boss at the Dark Horse Bar, could ruin her good mood today. As Helena turned to serve the indicated customers - a sloshed business man and his equally tipsy girlfriend - the entrance to the bar opened, admitting fading sunlight, Spring air, and three people who had absolutely no business being in the Dark Horse on a school night. Thinking that the inebriated business couple could wait, Helena headed over to the table where the trio had settled themselves. "Hey, Barbara, what gives? This is a school night after all," she said winking. "Oh, c'mon Helena!" Dinah exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "I must have told you twenty times that Spring Break is today. Gosh! I swear Alzheimer's setting in early!" "Nah," said Gabby, eyeing the amusement in Helena's eyes. "She's in love. Nothing else can mess with your mind more." Barbara tried to suppress a smile at that, but couldn't help it. She was glad that Helena had finally found some happiness. "'kay, so now that we have established that I'm walking around with my head in the clouds and my brain up my ass," Helena teased, "what can I get you? The usual?" "Yeah," Dinah said, "and then you can pull up a chair. You're shift's about over and we have some Spring Break partying to plan." Helena laughed and headed off toward the bar. Gabby watched her as she walked, mesmerized. She didn't even notice that Dinah was staring at her, until she received an elbow to the ribs. "Hey, that's my sister you're gawking at!" Dinah joked. "Yeah, good looks seem to run in the family," Gabby joked back, causing Dinah to blush. The phone rang and Helena picked it up as she poured soda into two glasses. "Dark Horse Bar." "Hey, beautiful," a voice murmured in her ear, sending a pleasant chill down her spine. "Hey yourself," Helena said smiling as she pictured the man on the other end of the phone line. "What time do you get off from work?" "You're the detective. Figure it out," Helena teased. "An hour," came Jesse Reese's answer. "I did my homework. I didn't get this badge of mine being lazy ya know." Helena grinned. She could picture the bemused look on Jesse's face as he said that. "So, what have you got planned after work? 'Cause this new club opened up and." "Jesse, don't you have to work?" Helena said confused. "Helena, it's a beautiful day. Gonna be a beautiful night. I want an equally beautiful girl on my arm. That too much to ask?" Jesse teased. "I took the day off to be with you. So what do you say?" Helena was blushing now, looking down so no one else would notice. "Okay. I'll give you a call after my shift's done." "I'll be waiting by the phone." "You do that, Detective." Helena couldn't resist using the old taunt. She hung up the phone and brought the drinks over to Barbara, Dinah, and Gabby. "Who was on the phone?" Dinah asked, earning an elbow from Gabby. "Don't be so nosy," Gabby chided. "Why? It was so obviously from her special detective," Dinah teased.  
  
Barbara tried to change the subject to save Helena. "So, are you coming by for dinner tonight?" "I dunno," said Helena. Jesse wants to go to this new club tonight. Don't know when he's picking me up." "Oh my gosh! New Gotham Nights! Oh Helena, you have to ask Reese if we can come," Dinah exclaimed. "Dinah, it's a date! I'm not gonna ask Reese if we can bring a couple of teenagers along on our date," Helena said, eyebrows raised. She headed back to the bar as two new customers arrived. As Barbara headed towards the Ladies' Room, Dinah leaned closer to Gabby in a conspiratorial manner. "We are going to that club tonight!"  
  
Helena stared at herself in the mirror. She liked what she saw. The sleeveless dress was black, form-fitting, and short - short enough to catch a lot of attention, which was why she had decided to meet Reese here, at the Clocktower, instead of her apartment. She didn't want the guys she worked with gawking or making wisecracks. She was still appraising her reflection in the mirror when Barbara entered the room behind her and let out a low whistle. "Wow! Reese is going to have his hands full tonight fighting off the competition," Barbara teased. "You think it's too much?" Helena asked, spinning around so Barbara could get the full effect - mock turtleneck front with a sexy cage back. The dress showed off every sensual curve in the most flattering of fashions. The high-heeled, black pumps complimented the outfit perfectly giving the impression that Helena's legs went on forever. "You look great, Helena," Barbara assured her. "Reese is going to be one lucky man to have you on his arm tonight." Helena blushed and Barbara suppressed a laugh. She hadn't seen Helena like this since she was a teenager. It was a refreshing change. This relationship with New Gotham detective Jesse Reese had had a very positive effect on Helena. Barbara hoped it would last - she'd had her share of relationships gone wrong. Two of her most recent painful flirtations with love came to mind and she quickly shoved the thoughts away so as not to spoil the moment. Just then, Dinah bounded into the room. "Reese's here.whoa! Nice outfit." "I second that," said Reese, as he entered the room. Barbara nudged the younger girl and nodded toward the door, but Dinah pretended not to notice. "So Helena says you're taking her to that new club, New Gotham Nights. I hear it's really great!" Dinah said. "Gabby and I have been wanting to check it out." Barbara glared at Dinah, but Helena just laughed. "Barbara, in the course of Dinah's training, have we ever given her the class on subtlety?" "Apparently not," Barbara said, annoyance clearly apparent. Reese caught on. "So you wanna come?" "Are you kidding?! Hell yeah!" Dinah exclaimed. "Go get dressed," Helena ordered. "And be quick about it or we'll leave you here." Barbara flashed Helena a surprised look. She was actually inviting Dinah to come along on her date with Reese. She decided to intercede just in case Helena was feeling pressured into taking Dinah along. "Wait just one minute here. I don't remember anyone asking me if a certain 16-year- old could go partying at a new club for all hours of the night." "Oh, please, Barbara," came Dinah's plea. "Yeah, Barbara, c'mon. It's Spring Break. She's been working hard. Let the girl have some fun." Barbara gaped incredulously at Helena, secretly wondering if she had been taken over by pod people. "Well, if it's okay with you, I guess so." She turned to Dinah. "But not too late. Spring Break or not, I'd rather you didn't walk in the door at 3AM or something." Dinah was about to respond when she caught Helena winking over Barbara's shoulder. Instead, she just hugged Barbara and ran to go get dressed. Barbara sat there for a moment wondering what had just happened, then steered the chair out of the room in a quest for some tea and sanity.  
  
"Have a great time," she threw over her shoulder as she left. "Ah, all alone at last." Reese walked over to Helena and gave her a quick appraisal. "I'd say I'm one lucky guy tonight, but that wouldn't exactly be true." Helena frowned, "How's that?" Reese wrapped his arms around Helena's waist and whispered in her ear, "I've been a lucky guy for some time now." Helena smiled, suddenly speechless. The night was definitely off to a good start.  
  
They piled into Reese's car - Jesse, Helena, Dinah and Gabby, who had mysteriously materialized just moments before the group was ready to leave. Dinah had smiled sheepishly at Helena then, but Helena wasn't angry. Helena felt wonderful, and she marveled at that fact. It had been a long time in coming, but she was finally getting to know happiness on a regular basis. She was so happy, that she couldn't help wanting to share that happiness with those around her, hence the invitation to Dinah to tag along. Helena remembered what it had been like being a teenager. Dinah had been through a lot in her life. She'd been handed off to foster parents at a young age. They hadn't understood nor welcomed Dinah's powers and made her feel unwelcome and unwanted. Then, so many years later, she finds out her mother is the legendary Black Canary. Seeing her mother again after so long, had been particularly difficult for Dinah. Initially, Dinah had trouble getting past the fact that her mother, Carolyn Lance AKA: Black Canary, gave her up. But just when she was starting to get to know her, Carolyn was killed by the notorious criminal, Al Hawke. Helena knew what that was like, knew how hard it was to survive. It drew her closer to Dinah in a way that nothing else could. A mutual bond that no one else could touch. All three of them - Helena, Barbara, Dinah - they had all suffered unbearable losses. It brought them closer to one another as they tried to help each other cope. It had made them a family. And Helena couldn't resist letting her little sister join in on the happy mood she was in. She also couldn't resist teasing her just a little. "Dinah, ya know, it's amazing how fast you got changed. And Gabby showing up out of nowhere.Sorta like you knew I was gonna let you come along." Dinah stammered, "Well, I." "Thought that if you mentioned how much you had wanted to check the new place out in front of Jesse, he'd convince me that letting you join us would be a good idea? Nice. Don't be so crafty next time. I had every intention of letting you come." That brought a smile to the teenager's face. "Just don't expect to come on all my dates, okay?" Helena said, laughing.  
  
Dinah and Gabby were in their glory. New Gotham Nights was a great club and they were having a wonderful time. From the looks of things, Helena and Reese were having a good time as well. A slow song had come on and, while Dinah and Gabby had left the dance floor, they had stayed. Dinah smiled. She liked seeing Helena so happy. She hoped she found someone like Reese. Not only was he extremely easy on the eyes, he was an all-around great guy. And he'd been great for Helena - supportive, caring, patient. Watching them together, gave Dinah a sense of hope for the future. "Penny for your thoughts." As Dinah turned to Gabby, a scream erupted from just a couple of feet away. As the girls turned toward the scream, a body fell from the balcony and crashed through a table beside them. 


	2. Part 2

No Kill Policy - Part 2  
  
Sorry to make you wait so long for this chapter. The rest should go at a much faster pace. Thanks go to Jon for ideas, Justine for previewing, and for helping me keep my sanity. Enjoy, folks! ---------------  
  
Jesse shook his head and sighed. He couldn't believe the luck he had. He glanced over at the raven-haired beauty leaning against the opposite wall and shook his head again. Every time he tried to have some private time with Helena, something always got in the way. Jesse walked over to stand beside New Gotham Police Detective McNally who was just finishing his inspection of the body. McNally looked up as Jesse approached.  
  
"So, Reese," he looked him up and down. "You don't look sick to me." McNally laughed.  
  
"Very funny," quipped Reese.  
  
"You see anything," McNally asked.  
  
"Naw," Reese answered. "I was...occupied at the time. What did you get off the witnesses?"  
  
"Nothing," McNally shook his head. "Your favorite type of case. Guy gets murdered - stabbed five times and tossed off a balcony - in front of dozens of people and no one sees a thing! Must be some kind of supernatural force behind this," he teased.  
  
"Haven't had your first cup of coffee yet, have ya," Jesse teased back. He glanced again in Helena's direction. She was still leaning against the wall, but now she was joined by Gabby and Dinah.  
  
"I'll be right back, okay?"  
  
McNally looked over at the three girls that had his partner's attention. He grinned, "Sure. Go 'head."  
  
As Jesse approached Helena, she straightened up and put her hands on her hips.  
  
"I guess this means our date is over," she said.  
  
"Guess so," Jesse responded. "Listen, can I talk to you a sec."  
  
Helena arched an eyebrow. She looked over at Dinah who was comforting a still-shaken Gabby.  
  
"We'll be okay," Dinah assured her.  
  
Helena followed Jesse to a spot a few feet away. She turned to face Jesse, arms folded across her chest. Something was bothering Jesse - she could tell - and she wanted to know what it was.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"I know this guy," he said looking down. He seemed uncomfortable.  
  
"'Dead Guy'" How?" she said, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.  
  
"His name is Carl Scudder," Jesse said. He paused for a moment, then looked into Helena's eyes. "He worked for my Dad." --------------  
  
Barbara's fingers were typing fast and furiously, bringing up mug shots and rap sheets for Carl Scudder. Helena and Dinah stood watching over her shoulder. They had dropped Gabby off at her house as soon as the police had released them from the crime scene. The first thing Helena did as soon as Gabby was safely in the house was contact Oracle to let her know what was going on. But, of course, Oracle already knew. The only information she didn't have was the name of the dead man and his ties to Al Hawke's organization. Now that she had that information, her hands were a blur, pulling up every bit of information she could find about the victim.  
  
"Nice guy," Dinah commented after reading his rap sheet. "Assault, harassment, assault, assault..."  
  
"And the hits just keep on coming," said Helena. "Jesse said that this guy - Scudder - used to do heavy-work for Al Hawke. Someone needed to learn a lesson, Scudder was one of the guys Hawke would call on to teach the lesson."  
  
"And judging from the information I'm pulling up, he's got plenty of enemies," Barbara said.  
  
"Tell me about it," Dinah agreed.  
  
An insistent beeping came from the Delphi Monitor. Barbara pointed to one of the numerous computer monitors.  
  
"Reese triggered the bat ring. Must have something new for us."  
  
"Or maybe he just wants to finish the date," Dinah joked.  
  
Helena let out a frustrated growl. "Why can't he just call like normal boyfriends?"  
  
Barbara stifled a chuckle as Helena headed for the elevator. --------------  
  
"What's up?"  
  
Reese jumped. He hadn't even seen her coming - and he'd been looking.  
  
"Why do you have to keep doing that?" Reese growled.  
  
"Spontaneity is good for a relationship," Helena teased. "So what's so important you couldn't tell me over the phone?"  
  
"I've been checking on the remains of my father's organization. Seems there's been some stir within the ranks. Seems that with my father in jail and Frankie Spitz out of the picture, everyone is vying for control of the organization."  
  
"So who's in the front of the pack?" Helena asked.  
  
"A guy named Nico Sylvestri. From what I could get out of my Mom, Sylvestri has already made his intentions clear. He's taking over and all opposition will be dealt with accordingly. Has people pretty scared. Apparently, Scudder isn't the only member of the opposition that met with a violent end. From what she said, Sylvestri works like a man obsessed. Once he perceives someone an enemy, he'll stop at nothing to get to them."  
  
"You got this information from your Mom?" Helena asked, incredulously.  
  
Reese shrugged. "No one else was willing to talk to me. Even Mom seemed a but jittery about it. Apparently this guy is a pretty rough character."  
  
"Nothing I can't handle. Where do I find him?"  
  
"You mean 'we' and I don't know exactly. Like I said, nobody's talking."  
  
Helena nodded. "Oracle will find him, but when she does, I don't want you anywhere near him."  
  
Jesse arched an eyebrow. "Really. And why is that?"  
  
Helena flashed a lopsided grin. "Because, Detective, I'd like to make certain that we finish this date. Which means I have to keep you safely tucked away at the police station. I don't want this guy realizing who you are and deciding you're competition." ---------------  
  
"So, what have you got?" Huntress asked as she jumped to the next roof. She'd been patrolling the seedier sections of New Gotham all night, waiting for Oracle to find some useful information about Nico Sylvestri.  
  
Oracle's voice didn't sound optimistic. "Well, Sylvestri was something of a juvenile delinquent - petty stuff really. Nothing major. Then, nothing...I mean nothing! No arrests whatsoever. A clean sheet. Are you sure Reese has the right guy? I don't even see anything that ties him in with Hawke's organization."  
  
Huntress frowned. "Reese seemed pretty certain. After all, look at where his information came from."  
  
"Well, if this guy is into organized crime, there's no evidence of it in any of the police computer systems I've hacked into," came Oracle's frustrated response. "Wait...Reese is on the line. Go ahead, Jesse."  
  
"Oracle, tell Huntress that I finally found someone who'll talk to me. He says that this guy Sylvestri is a real lunatic. Says he was at the club with Scudder. They'd been attempting to get a slice of the new owner's pie. Sylvestri approached Scudder, saying that he'd heard Scudder had been bad- mouthing him throughout the organization. The next thing my snitch knew, Sylvestri was jabbing a knife into Scudder, so my snitch took off running. This guy's scared to death. I'm at the Gotham Pub. I'm gonna need Huntress' help getting him to a safe house."  
  
"Did you get all that, Huntress?"  
  
"Tell him I'm on it," Huntress said, launching herself over the neon sign atop the next roof and doing a back-flip to land on the other side. --------------- As soon as she got there, Huntress knew something was wrong. It wasn?t anything she could see. It was just a feeling, but Huntress had learned to trust those ?feelings? long ago. Jesse stepped out of the Gotham Pub with a disheveled, nerve-wracked thug. They got within four feet of Huntress, when someone stepped out of the shadows and grabbed Reese?s companion, hurling him into the nearest brick wall. Before Reese or Huntress could react, Sylvestri had his knife buried seven inches into the snitch?s chest. Then he turned toward Reese. Huntress quickly positioned herself between the two.  
  
"Uh-uh," she said, wagging her finger from side to side. "I don't think so."  
  
Sylvestri stared at Huntress, unmoving. As she made a move toward him, Huntress felt the slightest resistance, as if she were moving through cobwebs to get at her prey. Huntress connected with a roundhouse kick. As Sylvestri fell to the floor, Huntress noted the shocked look on his face.  
  
It was him! she thought. That bit of resistance was him. He's a meta. And whatever he was trying to do to me didn't work.  
  
Huntress advanced on Sylvestri. The sudden screech of tires made her turn from her prey. A car was approaching - fast - and it was aimed right at Jesse Reese.  
  
"Jesse!" she screamed, launching herself at Reese. They landed in a tangle just out of reach of the car's left fender as it passed. The car stopped only long enough for Sylvestri to fling himself inside, and then sped off down the street. --------------  
  
"You okay, Nico?"  
  
Nico Sylvestri was too lost in his own thoughts to even realize that the driver was talking to him.  
  
Who was that bitch! And why couldn?t I stop her?  
  
Nico had first realized that he had special abilities when, at eighteen years of age, he had gotten caught robbing a liquor store. The cop that had caught him hadn't been interested in making the arrest. He'd been looking to shake the young thief down for the money he had stolen. Nico had simply stared into the crooked cops eyes with all the intensity he could muster, and a funny thing had happened. The cop had fallen to his knees, babbling incoherently. Nico smiled at the memory.  
  
Some time after that, a street thug had tried to jump him. Nico gave him the same look and the kid froze in his tracks, giving Nico the opportunity to pummel his attacker. Nico experimented with his "super stare" as he dubbed it, several times. Each time, depending on the individual, he would get a different reaction. Either the victim would forget what it was that they had just been doing, would freeze up, or would completely lose their mind.  
  
He didn't know exactly how this thing worked, but he liked his "super stare". He decided to use it to his advantage. He got himself recruited into the Hawke organization, using his power to keep his record clean as he committed crime after crime for the organization. Most times he used the power to get away with whatever crime he had committed. Like with Scudder - he'd killed Scudder without using the stare. He'd needed the stare to keep the witnesses from speaking. He'd missed Fascow, but he?d gotten him in the end.  
  
Scudder, Fascow - they were no match for him. He'd gone up against worse and survived.  
  
But this bitch - she's different. I couldn't stop her! In fact, she stopped me! From killing that damned cop!  
  
Nico Sylvestri was a man used to getting his way. No one had ever stopped him before. Anyone who opposed him was his enemy, and Nico had a very special way of dealing with his enemies. That woman had made herself a powerful enemy in front of the Gotham Pub tonight. In that moment, Nico made a promise to himself. He would find out just who that woman was, and when he did, he would make her pay. 


	3. Part 3

Reese paced impatiently outside the New Gotham Police Headquarters. It had been over a week since the Scudder murder. Over a week since Nico Sylvestri had taken out Mickey Fascow, the only witness to the murder. Reese shook his head as he replayed the events of that night. Sylvestri had gotten the drop on him good, killing Fascow and almost killing Reese, had Huntress not been there. She'd saved his life again. Some day, he would find a way to even the score with her. Right now, he'd just settle for catching this creep Sylvestri. "You rang?" Huntress asked, startling Jesse out of his thoughts. Dinah was with her. The two had been patrolling the streets non-stop looking for Sylvestri without any luck. Reese hoped that the information he was about to give them would up the ante a bit. "I have something for you." He handed Helena a slip of paper. "Those are five of the most vocal opponents to Sylvestri's take-over." "Where did you get this?" Huntress asked, as she handed the paper to Dinah. "I thought nobody was talking." Jesse looked pained as he answered, "I went to see Dad." Dinah looked up, eyes flashing. "You went to see Al Hawke?!" "It was all I could think of. We have nothing, Dinah. No witnesses. No way to find Sylvestri. I had no choice." "What did you have to give him in exchange?!" Dinah asked, her voice trembling in anger. "Nothing." She looked as if she didn't believe him. He couldn't blame her. Jesse had been certain his father would ask for something in return for the information, but Al Hawke had muttered something about the ingrate that tried to kill his son. Hawke hadn't minded that Sylvestri was trying to take over the organization while Hawke was behind bars. That is, until now - now, it was personal. Huntress laid a hand on Dinah's shoulder. She understood the young girl's anger - Hawke had killed her mother after all. But Hawke was in prison and Nico Sylvestri was still at large. "Now's not the time to argue over Al Hawke. We have to get these names back to Oracle."  
  
There she was, Nico thought. I knew watching the cop would pay off. But who was that kid with her. Nico watched his prey, concealed in the shadow of the alley across the street as the cop handed the raven-haired woman a piece of paper. Huntress. Nico had done some research on this lady. She was a tough character from what he had heard. Had taken a few of his associates out over the years. But the blonde kid.he had no idea who that was. Cute little thing, he thought. He could barely hear what was being said between the trio until the blonde kid started freaking out about Al Hawke. And feisty, too! He watched as Huntress calmed the girl down. They each set off in a different direction. He watched as Huntress jumped effortlessly to the rooftop of a nearby three-story building, then leaped to the roof of the seven-story building beside it. He decided he'd follow the kid instead.  
  
Huntress stood propped up against a light post, a block away from the Clocktower. She knew Dinah had to come down this street in the Hummer, and she wanted to talk to her before they got to the Clocktower. Once they gave those names to Oracle, it would be non-stop work from there. The Hummer came into view a moment later and skidded to a halt beside Huntress. "You know, you drive entirely too fast," Huntress teased. "We're on a tight schedule, right?" came the overly sarcastic reply.  
  
Huntress had been right, Dinah was still fuming over Jesse going to see Al Hawke. She climbed into the passenger seat of the Hummer. "Dinah, Jesse had no choice. He had to try to get some information from Hawke. There just wasn't any other option." "I know." Dinah looked down at her hands. "It's just.every time I hear his name.I know he's in prison, paying for what he did to her, but." Dinah's voice hitched. Huntress reached out a hand to smooth the back of Dinah's hair. "I know, kid." She leaned over and rested her head against Dinah's. "I know.  
  
That was interesting, Nico thought as he watched from afar. The kid means something to her. After a couple of minutes, the Hummer moved off down the street, but Nico decided not to follow. He had a plan - a way to get back at Huntress for getting in his way, for becoming his enemy. He smiled wickedly as he thought of how much he was going to enjoy his revenge.  
  
Dinah ducked as Benjamin "Benny" Narno approached the window of the near-empty bar. The girl sighed in relief as he stepped away from the window and headed toward the rear table he'd been occupying for almost two hours. She hoped Huntress and Reese were having a better time watching over their potential victims. Oracle had run the names that Jesse had gotten through the Delphi Monitor and had narrowed the list down to three. Two of the people on the list had turned up dead moments before. So, they divided the three remaining names between Huntress, Dinah, and Reese. So far, she'd followed Narno from bar to bar. There seemed no end in sight as Narno chugged down drink after drink with his "work associates". Dinah wrinkled her nose in disgust. Protecting murderers and thugs from another murderous thug was not what she had signed up for. Narno stood again, this time heading for the door of the bar as the bartender made preparations to close for the night. Dinah stepped back into the shadows of the alley beside the bar. Nico was behind her, waiting. He swung a two-by-four into her back, the force propelling her forward, causing her to strike her head on the brick wall. As she sank to the floor, Dinah heard the distant sound of a man's laughter. Then, the world went black. 


	4. Part 4

Huntress slowly and methodically scanned the streets of New Gotham from her perch on a rooftop, high above Smith Street and the bar Dinah had radioed in as being her last location. Where are you, kid? Oracle had contacted Huntress the moment she realized that something was wrong. Unlike Huntress, it wasn't like Dinah to not answer her comms. Huntress was just as worried as Oracle at this point. There was just no sign of Dinah anywhere. She dropped down to the street below and walked toward the bar. The street was deserted; the bar long since closed. Huntress looked around, trying to figure out where Dinah could have gone. Then, she spotted them...the keys to the Hummer lying on the floor just outside the alley. "Damn," she muttered, bending to pick up the keys. She paused there, unable to take her eyes off what was beside the keys. Blood. "Oracle.Dinah's in trouble!"  
  
* * * *  
  
Barbara ran a hand through her hair. Dammit, Dinah! Where are you? She had signaled that she was watching Narno drink the night away in a bar on Smith Street. An hour later, Barbara had tried to contact her, but Dinah hadn't responded. She was used to this sort of behavior from Helena, but Dinah. "Damn" It was barely audible, but Barbara picked it up. She also picked up the sharp intake of breath just before Huntress said, "Oracle.Dinah's in trouble!" "What did you find?" "The car keys.and blood." Barbara sat completely still for a moment, fully absorbing what Huntress was telling her. Then, she sprang into action, her fingers a flurry of action as she typed numerous commands into the Delphi. "I'm using the GPS to track her.hang on." Concern was etched on Barbara's face as she worked to triangulate on the signal coming from Dinah's comm set. The Delphi Monitor signaled that the tracking was complete. "Got her! A warehouse on 4th and Vine!" "I'm on it!" Barbara leaned back in her chair. Silently, she urged Huntress to hurry.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Okay, I'm here." Huntress stood on a ledge outside of a warehouse window. Normally, she would simply jump right in and crash the party, but this time things were different. Dinah's signal hadn't changed, hadn't moved since Oracle had begun tracking it. Huntress didn't know what she would find inside. Or who. Charging in could cause Dinah to get hurt.worse than she may already be. Huntress pushed the thought from her mind and peered inside. The warehouse was as dark as the inside of a tomb. Huntress' night vision kicked in as she scanned the interior, searching for any signs of movement. Wait! What was that?! Huntress could make out a figure huddled in the far corner of the warehouse, unmoving. The figure's back was turned to her, but the blonde hair was unmistakable. Dinah!  
  
"Oracle, I found her!" she said, when she could find her voice. With that Huntress crashed through the window and free-fell to the warehouse floor. She made another quick scan of the warehouse from her new vantage point. Satisfied that the rest of the warehouse was unoccupied, Huntress made her way toward Dinah. Be okay, kid, she thought, as she noted that the girl was curled up in a fetal position. Please. As she approached Dinah, dread filled Huntress' heart. She crouched beside Dinah and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Dinah?" "N-no." Dinah's cry was barely audible as she tried to pull herself into a tighter ball. That was when Huntress noticed the bruised features, the blood, the ripped clothing, and the opened switchblade, the initials NS inscribed on the hilt, impaling a piece of paper beside Dinah. Scrawled on the paper in large letters: PAYBACK. Instantly, she knew who was responsible for this - Nico Sylvestri. "That Bastard!!" Huntress clenched her fists. Her eyes flashed as the anger coursed through her. She wanted to hunt him down! Wanted to reach down his throat and rip his heart out. Dinah's feeble whimpering brought her back to the moment at hand. "Huntress, what's going on?!" Oracle's voice sounded in her ear, but Huntress was focusing all of her attention on the broken teenager that lay before her. Tentatively, she reached out her hand again to touch Dinah's shoulder. As the young girl tried to shy away from the touch, Huntress spoke to her soothingly. "It's okay, Dinah. It's me.Huntress. Dinah, he's gone. It's me." It took a few moments for Dinah to comprehend who was speaking to her and what she was saying. "Huntress?" "Yeah, honey it's me," Huntress said as she gently turned the girl toward her. Suddenly, Dinah launched herself at Huntress, grabbing the collar of her jacket and burying her face in her chest. She let out gut-wrenching sobs that tore at Huntress' heart strings. Tears forming in her eyes, Huntress held her tightly, whispering soothing words as Dinah sobbed. "Huntress?!" Oracle cried, the worry evident in her tone. "Talk to me!" "Dinah's.she's hurt. Meet me at New Gotham Memorial," Huntress said, preparing to lift Dinah. Oracle voiced her confusion. "New Gotham Memorial? Don't you think it would be a better idea if you brought her to the Clocktower. We could." "Oracle!" Huntress snapped. She struggled to regain her self- control. In precise, evenly spaced words, she said, "New Gotham Memorial, Oracle. I'll meet you there. Huntress out."  
  
* * * *  
  
Barbara sat staring at the computer screen. Something was very wrong. Huntress had never liked hospitals and had always been more than happy to let Barbara or Alfred patch up her injuries. And the tone in her voice. A chill ran through Barbara as she considered all of the things that could possibly have happened to Dinah. She tried to push the thoughts away as she steered her wheelchair toward the elevator, grabbing her car keys as she left. 


	5. Part 5

Helena paced the floor outside Examination Room 1. She wanted to be in there with Dinah.or outside hunting down Dinah's attacker.anywhere but in the hallway, thinking. "I'm looking for Dinah Redmond. I was told she was brought here." Helena spun at the sound of Barbara's anxious tones. "Barbara!" As Barbara hurriedly steered her wheelchair toward Helena, the knot that had grown in her stomach began to tighten. The look on Helena's face - it was enough to scare the hell out of Barbara. Judging from Helena's distraught features, Dinah was in pretty bad shape. As she got closer though, Barbara noticed something else. Helena's eyes had changed - she was doing her best to keep that shielded, but to Barbara's practiced eye, the change was as obvious as its meaning. Helena was very angry. "Helena.where." "That Bastard Sylvestri!" Helena interrupted loudly, causing two nurses to glare sharply in her direction. Helena waited until Barbara had closed the gap between them, and then continued in a hushed, but angry tone, "Barbara, he.he raped her!" The words hit Barbara like a slap in the face. Dinah had started out as just a runaway - a naïve, young teenage girl who had nowhere else to go. But, over time, she'd become Barbara's protégé, and so much more. Like Helena, Dinah had become like a daughter to Barbara. Every time one of her girls got hurt, Barbara felt the pain. But this.this cut like a knife. Helena continued, "They wouldn't let me stay with her.said they needed her guardian to be here before they could do a rape kit. But they wouldn't let me stay." Helena was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. "Are you Dinah Redmond's guardian?" a kind-looking young nurse asked.  
  
"Yes," Barbara answered. "I'm Barbara Gordon." "I'm Nurse Guthrie. Please come with me." As Nurse Guthrie led the way to Examination Room 1, she explained the extent of Dinah's injuries. "She's suffered a concussion and needed a couple of stitches on her forehead. Those are minor.We had to wait for you to complete a rape kit. Hospital policy." They entered the room, and what Barbara saw made her breathe hitch. Dinah looked so small in the hospital bed, so bruised and beaten. As Barbara made he way to Dinah's side, a doctor entered the room behind her. She barely noticed, her attention focused on the broken teenager before her. Dinah's eyes were red and swollen. There was an almost vacant look to them and Barbara realized that she must be suffering from shock. The doctor - Dr. Conner - was talking to Dinah, explaining the procedure to her in comforting tones. But Barbara knew Dinah barely heard the words. It wasn't until Dr. Conner had donned the latex gloves and prepared to begin the rape kit, that Dinah reacted. Tears began coursing down Dinah's cheeks and there was fear in her eyes as she watched the doctor approach. Her breathing quickened. Barbara held Dinah's hand in her own. Dinah gripped Barbara's hand tightly - so tightly her knuckles were white with the effort. As Dr. Conner approached the end of the bed, Dinah's eyes widened. Barbara reached out with her other hand and, gently cupping the girl's chin, turned Dinah's face toward her own. "Shhh," Barbara soothed. "Just look at me. It'll be over soon. I promise." Dinah's eyes pleaded with Barbara to make it stop - to make it all go away. It broke Barbara's heart and a single tear escaped her eye as Barbara smoothed the hair back from Dinah's forehead. She willed the doctor to hurry.  
  
Helena watched as Barbara entered the examination room with the nurse. The door closed shut behind them and Helena watched through the small window in the door. Then a doctor pushed his way past her, entered the room, and pulled the curtain around Dinah's bed closed, effectively cutting Helena off from them. Helena cursed silently to herself. She wanted to be in there.wanted to be there with the kid who had become so much a part of her new family. It killed her to be kept out here. She turned from the door, walked to the small chair beside it and sat down. She leaned forward on the seat, rested her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She didn't even notice Detective Jesse Reese's approach until he was standing over her. "Helena?" She looked up into Reese's concern-filled features. "I just heard. Got here as fast as I could. How is she?" "Bad, Reese.she's bad." Helena fought to control her voice, so hard that she didn't even notice that she had reverted back to calling Jesse by his last name. "Sylvestri.he did this to her.to get back at me." She stood and took a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. It was the paper Nico Sylvestri had left beside Dinah in the warehouse. Jesse looked down at the paper in his hand, read the one word - "PAYBACK" - and then looked back into Helena's eyes. They changed as the anger she was fighting to control, found it's way to the surface. "I want this guy, Reese! You have to help me find him! He has to pay for this..he has to." Her voice broke as angry, pain-driven tears burst from her eyes. Jesse took her into his arms and enfolded her in his embrace. He held her tightly to him, wishing he could make the pain and the anger disappear. "We'll find him, Helena," he promised. He gently kissed her forehead. "We'll find him." 


	6. Part 6

Warning: Parts of this chapter of fanfic may be highly graphic at times. It contains violence of a sexual nature. Reader's discretion is advised.  
  
Detective Jesse Reese sank into his chair in the New Gotham Police Department headquarters. It had been a long, disturbing night. He glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that it was now early morning. He sighed, leaned back and closed his eyes. Things had been rather boring at first - Reese and his partner McNally had been conducting a stakeout of the home of one Jacob Zipanski, a long- standing member of the Hawke criminal organization. Zipanzki, or "Zippo" as he had been dubbed by friends within the organization, made his living playing with fire. As one of Hawke's enforcers, it was Zippo's job to take care of the businesses that didn't go along with the organization's vision of New Gotham. It was a job Zippo took very seriously, taking cares to make each arson uniquely different from the last. Any business owner that dared to challenge Al Hawke, would soon find themselves a part of one of Zippo's fiery new masterpieces. Zippo had never been involved in the politics of the organization, until Nico Sylvestri's bid for control. Zippo had been recruited by Al Hawke himself and his loyalty to the crime boss was unwavering. This made him a target in Sylvestri's clean-up spree. It took a long time to convince McNally that the stakeout was needed. McNally was happy enough to let the members of the organized crime family kill each other off one by one. He hated stakeouts and the long, boring hours they promised. This stakeout was no exception. Zippo hadn't ventured out of his home once the entire night. After sitting across the street from Zippo's apartment for five hours, McNally had declared the stakeout a waste and they returned to headquarters. He'd told McNally that he had to take some off time and went to his car. He had wanted to contact Oracle on the transmitter she had given him and find out how Huntress and Dinah were fairing. Once in the car, he inserted the transmitter in his ear, and turning it on, was surprised to hear Barbara's voice. As he listened, he realized that it was a looped recorded message: "Reese, Huntress is bringing Dinah to New Gotham Memorial." Nothing more. Reese raced to New Gotham Memorial. He had hoped Dinah was okay. From what Helena had told him, and what he himself had already witnessed, the girl had been through a lot in her life. As soon as he'd arrived at the hospital, he'd flashed his badge at the triage nurse and asked about Dinah Redmond. He was totally unprepared for the answer the nurse gave him. As he made his way to Examination Room 1, he spotted Helena slumped in a chair outside the room, head in hands. He could only imagine what she must have been feeling. Helena was very protective of Dinah, especially after what had happened to Dinah's mother.  
  
Helena hadn't even noticed his approach and had only realized he was standing there when he spoke her name. She had tried so hard to keep her emotions under control as she showed him the taunt Sylvestri had left beside Dinah in the warehouse where Helena had found her. When her control began to fail, Reese had held her tightly in his arms, wishing he could do more than just promise her that he would find Sylvestri. Reese had stayed with Helena and waited for the rape kit and subsequent police statement to be completed. Reese excused himself only to speak with the officer who had taken the statement, telling him that he wanted to be kept apprised of all information regarding this case. Then, he returned to his seat at Helena's side and waited for Barbara and Dinah to exit the room. It was Barbara who came out first. She turned to Helena. "She's going to need some help," was all she said. Helena jumped up and was in the room in a heartbeat, leaving Reese alone with Barbara. "She gonna be okay?" Reese asked. Barbara looked down at her hands, studying them as if she could find the answers there. "I don't know, Reese. I just don't know." She left then, wanting to bring the car to the exit for Dinah. Moments later, Helena brought Dinah out in a wheelchair. The young blonde had looked incredibly tiny in the hospital scrubs the nurse had given her. Tiny and broken. She stared at some invisible spot on the ground as Helena wheeled her toward the exit. He walked with them to the car. He had tried to help Dinah into the car, but she had cringed away from his touch, so he backed off. Helena climbed into the back seat of the Hummer with Dinah, and they left, leaving Reese to return the empty wheelchair. After that, Reese had come back to headquarters. He had a promise to keep. He would find Nico Sylvestri.  
  
Dinah let the water from the shower head cascade over her. She had turned on the hot water as high as it would go. She wanted it gone - all of it - wanted to wash every minute of the past few hours away. As the water hit her face, she closed her eyes. And saw him. He was leaning over her in the warehouse, sneering at her as she struggled to regain consciousness. He was saying something to her; she could smell his rancid breath as he leaned in close to her face. Dinah couldn't quite understand what it was he was saying.something about enemies and payback. But she did understand what he meant when he pulled out a switchblade and cut the top button from her blouse. She tried to lash out at him with her hands, but realized they were bound behind her. He was straddling her legs. And so she had tried to use her telekinetic powers to thrust him away. But nothing happened...nothing to him anyway. Dinah screamed as a searing pain erupted inside her skull. Nico Sylvestri laughed then. Scream all you want, bitch. No one will hear you. He cut another button, all the while staring into her eyes. She tried to push him away again. Dinah felt as if he had plunged the knife inside her skull and she screamed once more. He had to be using something to stop her powers, causing her this pain. He laughed again. Starting at the base of her neck, he trailed the flat end of the blade down toward her chest. He grinned at her, pausing the blade only for a moment before slicing through the rest of the buttons. Dinah screamed again.screamed for all she was worth.  
  
Barbara was stationed near Dinah's bed, waiting for the girl to come out of the shower. She'd been in there for a while, and Barbara was worried. Helena was in the kitchen making some tea. She had been restlessly pacing beside Barbara until a few moments ago, when Barbara sent her to the kitchen to make tea. Helena had been grateful for the task. Barbara had just decided to go knock on the bathroom door, when she heard the scream. She heard a crash from the kitchen as she rushed toward the bathroom. Suddenly Helena was there beside her as she reached for the doorknob. She threw the door open and they were immediately met by a wall of steam. Peering past, Barbara could just make out the figure huddled in the shower stall. Helena got there first, tearing open the shower curtain. Dinah was huddled in the corner of the stall, weeping copiously. Barbara reached for Dinah's robe on the back of the door, while Helena reached into the stall to turn off the water. "Damn," she hissed as the scalding hot water burned her wrist. She grit her teeth and turned off the water. She took the robe from Barbara and, stepping into the stall attempted to wrap it around the weeping girl. At first, Dinah shrank back, not really seeing who it was that was reaching for her. After a moment, she realized that it was Helena and offered no further resistance. Helena got Dinah to her feet and led her into the bedroom following Barbara. Dinah walked as if in a trance. Helena led her over to the bed and Dinah sank down on it dutifully. Barbara maneuvered her wheelchair so that she faced Dinah. "What happened, Dinah?" Dinah looked down at the floor and didn't say anything for several heartbeats. Then, in a whisper, she began, "I.I close my eyes.and I.can see him.laughing at me.touching me.I tried to stop him.I tried, but.I." She broke down then and Barbara encircled her in a tight embrace. "I couldn't stop him!" she wailed. Helena stood to the side, arms folded, eyes blazing, trying without much success to push away the mental picture Dinah was painting. She silently left the room while Barbara continued to comfort Dinah.  
  
Barbara found her on the balcony, leaning against the railing, looking out over New Gotham. Helena was staring over the city, but she wasn't really seeing it. Instead, she saw Dinah, curled in a ball in the warehouse, the "Payback" note impaled by Nico Sylvestri's switchblade beside her. "Helena?" "How is she?" Helena asked, never taking her eyes off of the city below. "I dunno," Barbara ran a hand through her hair. "She finally fell asleep.or rather, passed out from sheer exhaustion. The next few days are going to be very difficult for her." Leave it to Barbara to state the obvious, Helena thought. Barbara moved up beside Helena and looked out at the view. She looked over at Helena, but couldn't quite see her face. She reached out and gently placed her hand on Helena's arm. "You okay?" Barbara asked. Helena turned her head just slightly to the side; just enough for Barbara to see the intense look on her face and the sudden flash of annoyance at the question. She shrugged off Barbara's touch. "Me? Am I okay? I'm not the one Sylvestri attacked! Save your concern for Dinah." Barbara heard the anger, but there was something else she recognized in Helena's voice. Something that made Barbara reach out to Helena again, this time grabbing Helena's arm and turning her so she could read Helena's expression. "Helena, don't.You can't blame yourself for this. You couldn't have known this would happen." "No?" Helena's voice dripped sarcasm. "Reese told us that the guy goes after anyone he perceives as the enemy. That he would stop at nothing to get at them." "Yes," Barbara agreed. "He did say that. And you being his new enemy - that would suggest that he would be coming after you, not Dinah." "It should have been me , dammit. Not Dinah.she's just a kid!" Her eyes flashed in anger. "She's been through enough without adding this!" She struck the railing with her fist. Barbara opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a scream from inside the apartment.  
  
"NOOO!!" Helena reached her first. She reached out to her, but Dinah wasn't fully awake yet. Unaware that it was Helena before her, Dinah lashed out with her fists, connecting squarely with Helena's jaw. Barbara entered the room at that moment. Her eyes went wide as the blow caught Helena by surprise, causing her to reel back slightly. "Dinah," Barbara called out, but Dinah couldn't hear her, so focused she was on fighting her "attacker". Helena reached out to Dinah a second time, undaunted as she let the girl strike her again and again. "Dinah.Dinah, it's a dream.It's okay.It's a dream." She repeated the words like a mantra, willing them to get through, pulling her into an embrace. "NO!.No!.No." As Dinah slowly came fully awake, she stopped struggling and leaned into the embrace. Burying her face in Helena's shoulder, she began to cry. "It's okay, kid.It's okay.shhh.You're safe.You're safe now." Helena's hand smoothed the back of Dinah's hair as she spoke to her in soothing tones. "I.every time I close my eyes.I see him." Helena gently pushed Dinah back to face her. She brushed tears from the young girl's face and looked her squarely in the eyes. "You're safe now, Dinah. He can't hurt you here. He won't ever hurt you again.I promise, Dinah.never again." With that Helena pulled Dinah back into the embrace, rocking her gently as she cried. 


	7. Part 7

Warning: Parts of this chapter of fanfic may be highly graphic at times. It contains violence of a sexual nature. Reader's discretion is advised.  
Helena woke to find Alfred staring down at her, tray in hand. She stared back up at him in confusion. It took her a couple of minutes to realize that she wasn't in her own apartment. She had sank down on the couch after Dinah had finally fallen asleep, emotionally drained. That was the last thing she remembered before finding herself peering up into Alfred's face. "Thought you could use something to eat, Miss Helena." Alfred said, setting down the tray. "In a minute. Thanks, Alfred." She rose from the couch and walked toward the bedroom. The door was opened just a crack and she peered in to find Barbara sleeping in her wheelchair beside the bed. Helena entered the room silently and crossed over to where Barbara was seated. As she passed the bed, she paused to look down at Dinah's sleeping form. She lay still for the moment, but her brow was furrowed as if in deep thought, and Helena could only guess what was going on behind those closed eyelids. Helena moved quietly over to Barbara and placed a hand on her shoulder. Barbara awoke instantly, her eyes darting to the bed. Seeing that Dinah was quietly sleeping for the moment, Barbara relaxed a bit. Helena motioned for Barbara to follow her as she turned and walked out of the bedroom. Once the door was shut behind them, Helena turned toward her mentor and gave her an appraising look, frowning. Barbara looked exhausted. "You know, sleeping like that can't be good for you," she said, reaching for the coffee carafe. Barbara gave a shrug. "About an hour after you fell asleep, I went in to check on Dinah. She was crying out in her sleep and I tried to comfort her as best I could. When she settled down, I couldn't leave the room - didn't want to leave her alone." Barbara trailed off. Dinah's shouldn't have to go through this alone. Shouldn't have to go through this at all She's so young. No one should have to know what this is like. No one. Helena took a sip of her coffee and watched as Barbara, lost in her own thoughts, stared off into space. Helena squinted her eyes. She got the sinking feeling that there was something Barbara wasn't telling her. She hated it when Barbara kept secrets from her. She hoped she was wrong, but the look on Barbara's face told her she wasn't. Helena put her coffee cup down and walked over to Barbara. "You okay?" Helena asked, placing a hand on Barbara's shoulder. "What?.Oh.Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired I guess." Barbara turned and steered the wheelchair toward the tray of food Alfred had left. She examined the contents of the tray, but selected nothing. Helena followed her over to the tray and sat down opposite Barbara on the couch. Barbara averted her eyes and suddenly Helena knew she was right. "Hey," she said in a low tone. "I thought we agreed after Clayface - no more secrets." She reached out a hand to touch Barbara's. "Barbara.c'mon.I know there's something you're not telling me." Barbara avoided Helena's gaze. How could she tell Helena when she had barely been able to deal with this herself? She bit down on her lower lip. Helena leaned in closer. "Barbara.talk to me." Barbara looked up into Helena's eyes and the tears fell unbidden. "There are certain things I remember about the day Joker shot me. I remember hearing that your mother had been murdered. I remember rushing to open the door because I thought.I thought it was someone I knew behind that door. I remember the shock when I opened it and saw him standing there, a gun leveled at my chest. It was all so surreal. I saw the muzzle flash, heard the gun fire, but a part of my brain just couldn't process the fact that Joker had just shot me. I remember wondering why it was that I was falling and once I hit the floor, why I couldn't get back up. The last thing I remember, before waking up in the hospital, is the sound of Joker's voice and his laughter as he stood over me." Knock, knock. Who's there? Batgirl - past tense! "When I awoke in the hospital bed, there was so much my father and my doctors had to explain to me. I could barely process all that they told me. They told me I was shot by Joker. They told me I would never walk again. They told me Joker had been recaptured. They told me that he was in prison. They told me that Batman had mysteriously disappeared. But they didn't tell me everything. "It wasn't until I started having the nightmares every night that I realized they had left something out. When I told my father about the nightmares, he blanched, and I knew that I had guessed right. Every night I would close my eyes to sleep. And every night, he would be there, his face inches from mine. I could see his face, smell his breath, hear his laughter, feel his hands on me.I was powerless to stop him. Every night the same nightmare." Helena could barely believe what she was hearing. Tears filled her eyes as she listened to her mentor's anguished tale. In a voice just barely above a whisper she said what Barbara couldn't, "He raped you." Barbara nodded her head, the tears flowing more freely. "It was his last act of revenge. The shooting - that was for Batman and my father. The..the rape.that was for me alone. Taking my life wouldn't be enough for him. He wanted to make certain that I wouldn't die with dignity. It didn't matter that I was barely conscious, that I barely registered what was happening to me. This was his last act of defiance and he enjoyed every minute of it." Helena shook her head, tears coursing down her cheeks as well. "Just when I thought I couldn't hate the bastard more." "They weren't going to tell me," Barbara continued. "They wee hoping I wouldn't remember or that I was unconscious when it happened. I felt so angry.so alone.I had such a hard time dealing with what happened to me.. "I prayed that neither of you would know that agony. Dinah's going to need us now more than ever before. She needs to know that we're here for her - that she doesn't have to go through this alone. She'll need counseling - professional help - but she'll need us, too. We're her family and she needs to know that what happened doesn't affect the way we feel about her. "And we need to find Sylvestri - bring him to justice. Because the last thing Dinah needs is to believe that he could come back - do this to her again. We have to find him and lock him up for good." 


	8. Part 8

Detective Jesse Reese turned in his gun and spare clip to the guard posted outside Tier One of New Gotham Prison. The guard locked away the weapon and ammo and buzzed open the first of two gates. Another guard led the way as Jesse walked down the long corridor toward the second gate. As the first gate slammed shut behind him, he wondered what he had been thinking by coming here. It had been two days since Dinah Redmond had been attacked and raped by Nico Sylvestri. He had promised Helena Kyle that he would find Sylvestri. For the past two days, it was all he had concentrated on. He'd tried all of his contacts.all except one - the one he was here to see. He didn't want to go back to Helena empty-handed. Helena. He worried about her. Jesse had thought he's seen her at her worst the night Harley Quinn had taken control of the Clocktower. He'd been wrong. Helena was taking this attack on Dinah very badly. She had been almost inconsolable at New Gotham Hospital the night Dinah was raped. Helena blamed herself for the attack. There had been so much anger in her eyes that night. So much pain. He had called last night to check up on her, but she wasn't at the apartment. She wasn't scheduled to work last night either, so he assumed she was at the Clocktower. He wanted to go to her; to hold her in his arms and comfort her. But he knew that the best thing that he could do for her right now was to find Sylvestri. And that was why he was here at New Gotham Prison. It was the last place he had wanted to come. But if he was going to find Sylvestri, this was his last hope. The officer led him past the second gate and into a tiny, dimly lit room. Here, seated in a chair opposite a table in the center of the room was the man he had come to see. "Why, Jesse, two visits in almost as many days. To what do I owe this pleasure, Son." Jesse was all business as he sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the table from his father, Al Hawke. "I need some information," he said. Al Hawke shook his head in mock sadness. "Never a friendly visit. No father/son chat. A shame really..." "No games, Dad," Jesse interrupted. "Sylvestri attacked a friend. I need to know where to find him." Hawke sighed. "I warned you about Nico, Son. I warned you to stay away from him. He's bad news. I can't help you." "Look! He attacked Dinah Redmond - messed her up pretty good. Now the way I see it, you owe her. If not for what you did to her mother, then for saving your life when Frankie Spitz hired that hitman. So, are you gonna help me or not?!"  
  
Helena stood looking over the balcony, lost in thought. Reese  
hadn't contacted her in two days. Helena ached to go out on patrol - to flush Sylvestri out of whatever hellhole he was hiding in. She wanted him to pay for the hell Dinah was going through, but she wanted to be here for Dinah as well. Sensing movement behind her, she turned and was slightly surprised to see Dinah standing in the doorway. She had spent most of the past two days in bed.  
"Hey, kiddo," Helena said, smiling.  
Dinah walked over to stand beside Helena at the railing. She looked out over the city of New Gotham.  
"You want to be out there don't you?" she asked. "You want to be out there looking for him." When Helena didn't answer, Dinah continued, "When I first came here, I was scared and alone. My so-called family was a joke. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Then, I found you and Barbara, and all of that changed. Now I have a family - a real family. With people who I care about; people who care about me no matter what. I don't want to lose that."  
"You won't," Helena assured her.  
Dinah said nothing for a couple of heartbeats. Then, she turned to face Helena.  
"Don't go after him, Helena. He.I couldn't stop him. Couldn't use my powers. Couldn't fight him off. He did something to me. He's meta, Helena. Every time I tried to 'push' him away, I'd get this pain - like a knife slicing through my skull."  
Helena put a hand on Dinah's arm.  
"It's okay, Dinah. I."  
Dinah shrugged off Helena's hand.  
"Don't you get it?!" Dinah yelled. "He blocked my powers. He'll block yours, too. He wants you to come after him! He'll kill you, Helena. I.I've lost so much. I can't."  
"Dinah," Helena grabbed the tearful girl by the shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere right now, okay?"  
"What's going on out here?"  
As Barbara headed out onto the balcony, Helena let go of Dinah's shoulders. The teen ran past Barbara and back into the Clocktower. Helena sighed and leaned back against the railing. Barbara raised a questioning eyebrow.  
"She was warning me against hunting down Sylvestri," Helena explained.  
"Ah," Barbara nodded in understanding.  
"But she said something that may help us."  
  
Helena stood behind Barbara as she worked at the Delphi.  
"There aren't a lot of metahumans with the power Dinah is suggesting. If Nico Sylvestri does have this power though, he's kept it well hidden. Nothing in the data banks."  
Helena let out a frustrated growl.  
"But, once we do find him, there's something you have to know. When you confronted him the last time, you said that you felt something."  
"Yeah, it felt.weird.like he was trying to push through an invisible barrier."  
"And Dinah said that he was blocking her powers - that trying to use them actually hurt."  
"Yeah."  
"I wonder," Barbara muttered, tapping away at the computer keyboard. "Yep, I thought I might have seen something like this before. It was a while back. Nightwing had contacted me about a metahuman with similar powers. Blocking other meta powers wasn't her only skill though. She had an effect on non-metas as well. She would look her subject in the eye and somehow send a shockwave through the subject cerebral cortex."  
Barbara paused as she noticed the frown on Helena's face.  
"I know, I know, English, please. Okay, it's like this. Sylvestri is using his power to zap his subjects, overloading a portion of their brains. It has a different effect on different people. In metas, it effectively blocks their abilities. In non-metas, well, maybe that's why he hasn't been arrested in a while. At least not since he reached 18 or so. That could be when he reached his metahuman potential."  
"Okay, so why didn't it affect me the same way it did Dinah?"  
"Well, the only thing I can think of is that you weren't close enough. In close quarters, it may have a different affect on you."  
The Delphi Monitor emitted a steady beeping, interrupting Barbara and directing her attention to a virtual map on the screen to her right.  
"Reese triggered the batring. He's a block away from the police station.  
"I'm on it."  
  
Reese paced back and forth. He wanted to go straight to the Clocktower - bring the information straight to Helena - but he wasn't certain how Dinah would react. He knew for a fact that she would hate that he had gone to his father to get the information he'd needed, that was for certain.  
"You found him?"  
"Damn!" Reese jumped as Huntress stepped out of the shadows of the alley beside him.  
"Well?" Huntress wasn't in the mood to tease Reese for his jumpiness today.  
"Can I even get a 'hello' first?" Reese said, a little worried about Huntress' impatience.  
"Reese!" Huntress' eyes changed and Reese took a step back.  
"Whoa! Easy!" Jesse raised his hands placatingly. "I want this guy, too, okay?"  
Huntress just stared at him.  
Jesse took a deep breath and continued, "Talked to Dad. He's got this guy in the organization. He's loyal to Dad, but pretending to be on the fence about Sylvestri taking over. Dad's gonna have his man set up a meet. He'll call me with the time and place. We can nail him then."  
"How long 'til you know?"  
"Soon, Huntress. Soon."  
  
Lights go out and I can't be saved Tides that I tried to swim against You've put me down upon my knees Oh I beg, I beg and plead (singing) Come out of things unsaid, shoot an apple of my head (and a) Trouble that can't be named, tigers waiting to be tamed  
  
Helena sat in the Dark Horse bar and waited for Reese's call. She'd already called Barbara to tell her the situation. A million thoughts swirled through her head as she stared at the drink on the bar before her. Chief among those was how Reese could possibly think that they could just charge in and arrest Sylvestri. With his metahuman ability, he would easily overpower the New Gotham cops. No, this would have to be done her way, or not at all.  
  
Confusion never stops, closing walls and ticking clocks  
  
Helena took a sip of her drink and thought of Dinah - how she had begged her not to go after Sylvestri. Then, she thought of how she had found her, lying there in the warehouse. How she had found Dinah in the shower after they had brought her home. And the constant nightmares.  
Helena shook her head. How could she not hunt him down? The question was, what to do once she had him. He had to pay. But how? Even if she turned him over to New Gotham PD, would they be able to hold onto him? She didn't think so. But what should she do?  
"Hey, Kyle! Phone call!"  
She had been so lost in thought, she hadn't even heard it ring.  
"Yeah?"  
"Hey, it's me."  
Helena listened as Reese relayed the information his father had given him.  
"We don't have a lot of time so."  
"Reese.no 'we' this time - just me."  
"Helena, you shouldn't do this alone."  
"I have to. Even if your people could hold on to him.Dinah would still have to testify against him. She's already been reliving this stuff in her nightmares. I won't let some hotshot lawyer make her relive it in a courtroom."  
There was a pause on the phone as Reese absorbed what Helena was telling him. "We could still get him on the murder charge. We both witnessed that."  
"And with what your father told you, do you think he'd do any time, assuming the cops could hold on to him long enough to go to court?"  
Reese thought about that long and hard. He had to admit that she had a point, but there weren't many alternatives. The ones he could think of made his blood run cold.  
"Helena, what are you going to do?"  
"I don't know yet. Just stay away, Reese. I don't want him to hurt anyone else that I care about."  
She hung up the phone without waiting for his response and turned to leave. As she walked toward the door, she removed her comm earrings. 


	9. Part 9

Barbara steered her chair toward the kitchen. Helena had just left to meet with Reese and Barbara decided that a nice hot cup of tea would help to calm the sudden nervous feeling beginning to grow in the pit of her stomach. Sylvestri was dangerous and Helena's mood had been fairly dark since Dinah's attack. Barbara shook her head.  
Every time things seem to be picking up around here.Just when you start to really feel happy.BAMM! A bomb goes off and knocks you right back on your ass! As she filled the tea kettle with water, Dinah entered the room. "Dinah - I was just about to make some tea. Would you like some?" "No," Dinah answered. Barbara gave the young girl a long look. She was frowning; head hung low, brow furrowed in thought. Leaving the kettle on the counter beside the sink, Barbara moved away from the sink and brought the wheelchair to a halt in front of Dinah. "Dinah? What is it?" After a moment, Dinah met Barbara's eyes. "Did Reese find him? Is that why Helena left?" "Reese triggered the Batring. That was why Helena left. I don't know if he found Sylvestri, or if maybe he just had some information that he wanted to relay in person." Dinah listened to Barbara's answer but was unconvinced. "She shouldn't go after him - at least not alone, Barbara. He has powers." "I know. Helena told me. Dinah." Her words were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Barbara let it ring for a moment, then reluctantly reached for the receiver. "Hello?" Her eyes met Dinah's as she recognized the voice on the other end of the line. "Gabby! Hi." She raised an eyebrow. Dinah shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, Gabby. Dinah's not feeling well. Oh, she's got some kind of stomach virus. Me, too, actually. Yes, she's probably going to be out for a while longer. Sure, I'll tell her you called. Okay. Bye." Barbara hung up the phone and looked over at Dinah, who was once more staring at a spot on the floor. "You know, you can't avoid her forever." "I know," Dinah answered, her voice barely audible. Barbara sat staring at Dinah for a moment. Then, reaching a decision, she grabbed Dinah's hand. "C'mon," she said, gently tugging Dinah along as she headed into the next room. She stopped at the couch and gestured for Dinah to sit. "We have to talk."  
  
When Barbara had finished telling Dinah all that Joker had done to her that fateful night, they were both in tears. It had been a hard decision to make, telling Dinah about that night, but Dinah needed to know that she wasn't alone. That someone else understood the fear, the pain, the shame. Only someone who had been through it could completely understand.  
"It's going to be hard, Dinah, but you're not alone. I'm here for you. So is Helena. And tomorrow, I'm going to start looking for a therapist for you to talk to."  
Dinah's eyes went wide.  
"You have to talk to someone, Dinah. These nightmares you've been having, the jumpiness - these things are not going to go away on their own." Suddenly, she laughed. "Don't worry, I'll make certain not to pick one with the initials H.Q."  
Dinah looked at Barbara blankly for a moment. Then, realization dawned on her and she couldn't help but laugh. Barbara pulled Dinah into a hug.  
"Now, why don't you get some rest. It's getting late."  
"Okay." As Dinah rose to leave, the phone rang. Barbara hurried to answer it and Dinah stuck around to see who might be calling so late. "Hello?" "Barbara, it's Reese." "Oh, uh, hi. How are you?" "Is someone there?" Confusion filled Reese's voice. "You've got that right," Barbara said. "Okay. My father set Sylvestri up. He's supposed to show up at a closed restaurant on Clancy Street. He thinks he's going to meet a potential supporter." "Sounds great," Barbara answered enthusiastically. "Except that Helena took off on me - said that she had to do this alone. Something about his being a meta, but I know there's more to it than that. Has she contacted you at all?" "Nope. Not a one." "Damn! Listen, Barbara, I'm in the car headed toward Clancy, but it's clear across town and the meet is in 5 minutes." "Talk about cutting it close," Barbara said frowning. "Yeah, well, I would have moved faster, but when I ran out to my car, the tires had been slashed. Of course the doer left a tell-tale calling card on the dashboard - a set of comm earrings." "That doesn't sound very good." "Yeah, I figured you might say something like that." "Well, don't be a stranger." "Okay, I'll be in touch." Barbara hung up the phone and turned to find Dinah's inquisitive features facing her. "Oh, that was a teacher-friend of mine. Asked if we could grab a bite to eat some day this week. Decided that someday was today. It's getting late, things are closing, and she wants to go grab a bite to eat." Barbara shook her head and Dinah grinned. "Sounds like a real night owl, unlike me. I'm going to bed. G'night." "Good night, Dinah," Barbara said. As soon as the teenager left the room, Barbara slammed a fist into the wheelchair's armrest. Damn! What the hell is Helena doing?  
  
Nico Sylvestri was pleased with himself. He was about to meet with a very influential member of the Hawke organization. It seems that Mr. Dugan was intrigued by his "work" and wanted to meet with him to discuss his takeover plans. Nico rubbed his hands together. Most of his opposition had been dealt with, he'd had his little revenge - and had fun doing it - and now, he was going to have the support of a big shot in the organization. Things were definitely working in his favor.  
"Sylvestri," a voice called out from a dark corner of the room, startling him. "Sorry, did I scare you?"  
"You? Never," he sneered. "What the hell do you want?"  
Huntress stepped out of the darkness. "We need to talk, you and I."  
"Yeah, make it quick, I've got business to take care of," Sylvestri snapped.  
"Your 'business' is with me," Huntress spat back. "Dugan's not gonna show, Sylvestri. You've been set up."  
"You know, bitch, I've had just enough of you. I would have thought you'd have learned something about messing with me by now." Dugan reached into his pocket and dug out a brand new switchblade. "Guess I'll have to remind you."  
"Listen - you don't know much about me, so let me school you, okay? I don't care about your take-over plans. I don't care about the guys you iced - they probably deserved it. You went after a cop friend of mine - that wasn't a smart move, but I'm over that. But going after Dinah - going after family - that's a mistake I'm not prepared to let you live down."  
They began to circle each other. Dugan reached into his pocket, pulling out a switchblade. He snicked it open, gazing at it, holding it up in the spare light of the darkened room, showing it off to Huntress.  
"She's a beauty ain't she. A new one to replace the one I had to leave behind." His voice turned reflective. "Hated leaving her there that night. There was so much more I had planned for her. So much more I had wanted to do with her."  
"Kind of a sick attachment you have for that blade," Huntress said, disgust apparent in her voice.  
"Wasn't talking about the blade. That Dinah.she is something ain't she?"  
With a growl, Huntress launched herself at Sylvestri. He ducked the attack, quickly moving to the opposite side of the room. Huntress spun around to face Sylvestri. He grinned evilly.  
"Really bothers you, huh?" He laughed. "Got under your skin? Not bad for someone who doesn't know you, huh? Damn, I'm good. Just ask your friend."  
Huntress launched a flying kick. Sylvestri tried to duck out of the way, but Huntress connected with his shoulder, knocking him backwards. As he back-pedaled, he tripped over a chair and fell to the floor. Huntress was on him in a heartbeat, landing a flurry of blows before he slashed at her face with the switchblade. She dipped backward, the tip of the blade narrowly missing her left cheek. It was enough of a distraction for Sylvestri, who thrust upward with his legs, knocking Huntress off balance. As she crashed to the floor, Sylvestri rolled to his feet, backing away, keeping the knife between them.  
  
"Ya know, you're pretty feisty. Now, you're friend - well, she didn't put up much of a fight." The minute Huntress was on her feet, Sylvestri launched an attack of his own. Slashing at Huntress' midsection with the knife, missing only by inches, then spinning around to come into a backward kick that didn't miss. Huntress staggered back a couple of steps. Sylvestri was fully into the fight now, launching another kick at the right side of Huntress' head. As she deflected that, he swung the blade at her face. Her left hand was a blur of motion as she grabbed his wrist and twisted, hard. She heard the satisfying snap as the bone broke and the knife clattered to the floor. Still holding Sylvestri's wrist in her left hand, she reached around his head with her right and drove it into her knee. Sylvestri's nose exploded in a fountain of blood. She shoved him backwards and he staggered into a wall. "Bitch! I'm gonna kill you!" Sylvestri prepared to charge Huntress, but she was too fast for him. She shot out her left foot, pinning Sylvestri to the wall. She smiled as Sylvestri struggled to free himself. She noticed he was looking at something just to the right of her. As she turned her head, she caught the faint gleam of metal on the floor. It was Sylvestri's discarded knife. Still smiling, Huntress picked up the knife, holding it up for Sylvestri to see. "You want this?" she purred. She dropped her left leg and Sylvestri sank to his knees on the floor. In two steps, Huntress had him - grabbing his neck in her left hand, she slammed him up against the wall, holding the knife at eye level. "I said, do you want this. 'Cause I'll be more than happy to give it to you!" Sylvestri said nothing - just stared into Huntress' eyes. Huntress began to feel that same strange feeling she had the first time she had come in contact with Sylvestri. He was trying to use his powers on her. "Uhuh, no cheating," she said, spinning the knife in her hand and slamming Sylvestri with its hilt just above his left eye. He screamed in pain, reflexively shutting the eye as blood streamed from his brow. Huntress spun the knife around again, this time bringing it up high over her shoulder. As she held the knife poised for the kill, she heard Barbara's voice echoing in her head. We don't kill. No matter what, we don't kill. It makes us less. We don't kill, Helena. The words repeated themselves in Huntress' head like a mantra as she thought of driving Sylvestri's own blade through his heart. Her knife hand wavered as she struggled with her thoughts. We don't kill. No, Huntress thought, he deserves to die! No matter how evil, we don't kill. Growling in frustration, she let go of Sylvestri and spun around, throwing the knife as hard as she could across the room. The blade impaled itself in the opposite wall with a resounding twang. She took a few steps in the direction of the impaled knife, running her hand through her hair. "Damn!" she yelled in frustration. She heard an audible click and spun around. "Didn't anyone ever tell you never to turn your back on your enemies?" Sylvestri said, pulling himself upright, keeping his back-up weapon trained on Huntress' heart. 


	10. Part 10

Huntress eyed the gun in Sylvestri's hand with some skepticism, raising an eyebrow.  
"You had that this whole time?" she asked, incredulously.  
Sylvestri chuckled. "What this ol' thing? Yeah, sure. But this is just my back-up piece, ya know? More into the knife. Love the artistry involved in using one. Guns are just so messy. BAMM! That's it. Now a knife.oh, you can be so creative!"  
Huntress rolled her eyes.  
This guy's a freaking headcase!  
Catching the look on Huntress' face, Sylvestri decided to toy with her a bit.  
"Take that night with Dinah for instance. Imagine how it must have felt. That cold steel blade sliding down her neck, caressing her collarbone, slicing button after button. Slowly of course - this was something that just couldn't be rushed. Really wish I hadn't left that knife behind. Would have made such a terrific souvenir."  
Sylvestri chuckled to himself as he watched Huntress tense. He knew just what buttons to press and he had the upper hand.  
"Yeah, that blade knew every inch, every curve of that girl. And what a girl - a bit young, but what the hell. Poor thing. You could tell she hadn't any experience. It was my absolute pleasure to show her the ropes. Oh, and the tears pouring from those baby blues. God! SO sexy. Tell ya what, when I'm done here, I think I'll pay that gal another visit!'  
  
Huntress' self-control had begun to waver the moment Sylvestri had mentioned Dinah's name. Her anger reached new plateaus as Sylvestri described the events of that night - the night Huntress had found Dinah curled in a fetal position on the floor of the warehouse. As Sylvestri spoke, she was brought back to that night. She saw Dinah lying there, the blood, the torn clothing, the bruises. She heard the whimpering, the sobbing. And as Sylvestri described the things he'd done to Dinah that night, Huntress felt herself beginning to spin out of control. The rage burning inside her was like that of an active volcano, the pressure mounting below the surface. The more he said, the greater the rage, until finally, the volcano erupted. All it had taken was the promise of a repeat performance. With a fury she had never before experienced, Huntress attacked. Sylvestri realized an instant too late that he had made a mistake. The look on Huntress' face was terrifying as she launched her attack - so terrifying that he almost forgot about the gun he held. He had only a second to fire before she was on him. His eyes widened into saucers. Sylvestri's aim been wide, a combination of his surprise at the attack, and the speed with which Huntress carried it out. But Sylvestri was certain he hadn't missed. I hit her! I know I hit her! That was the last thought that Sylvestri had before Huntress crashed into him, sending them both sprawling, the gun skittering across the floor. Sylvestri scrambled for it, but Huntress was too fast for him. Grabbing him by the collar, Huntress hauled Sylvestri to his feet. She spun him around, driving him face first into the wall. Huntress caught Sylvestri by the hair as he rebounded from the wall. She slammed him into the wall again, then spun around and threw him to the floor. As Sylvestri struggled to get to his feet, Huntress drilled him with a kick to the ribs. Again he tried to get to his feet, and again Huntress was there, this time helping him to his feet. Bringing him around to face her, she began with a well placed right cross, and continued to mercilessly pummel Sylvestri, until she had driven him into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Sylvestri hit that wall hard enough to rattle his bones. His knees crumpled beneath him and he began to slide down the wall. Huntress caught him - one hand grabbing his hair, the other his throat - and hauled him to his feet. As they stood face to face, Sylvestri could see the fury in Huntress' eyes. A part of him cringed at the untamed rage he saw there. Another part of him couldn't resist the urge to crank up the volume. "She tasted so sweet.so pure.Was I her first?" It was over in seconds. Before she even realized what she was about to do, Huntress lay one hand behind Sylvestri's head and one on his chin. In one quick, spinning motion, Sylvestri's neck was broken, the resounding crack echoing in Huntress' ears. She let Sylvestri fall to the floor, then slid to her knees, spent.  
  
Barbara entered the balcony and headed toward the railing. Looking out over the city with worried eyes, she tried to believe that Huntress was safe. Hearing a scraping sound behind her, Barbara spun her wheelchair around and was surprised to see Helena seated in a corner of the balcony.  
"Helena! God! I didn't hear you come in. Reese called and I was worried about you." As Barbara spoke, she slowly moved closer to Helena.  
"I'm fine."  
Barbara was worried before, but now she felt a chill run through her as she drew closer to Helena. She noted the way Helena sat staring at some unseen point in front of her, knees pulled up under her chin; the way she didn't meet Barbara's eyes when she responded. Something was very wrong here.  
"Helena."  
"Where's Dinah?"  
The question surprised Barbara slightly and she glanced over at the room beyond.  
"She's sleeping actually. We had a long talk. I think."  
"I found him." Helena spoke in monotone, never once meeting Barbara's eyes.  
Barbara edged closer and noticed a tear in Helena's jacket, that the area around the tear appeared wet. Coming along side her, Barbara reached for the tear.  
"Helena.you're bleeding!" She reached for Helena's hand. "C'mon. Inside, now!"  
Helena rose slowly to her feet and followed Barbara into the Clocktower. She sat down on the couch as Barbara went to get first aid supplies. When Barbara returned, Helena was still seated in the same spot, staring at the floor.  
"Take that off," Barbara said, indicating Helena's jacket. Barbara winced as the jacket was removed revealing the wounded shoulder beneath.  
"Helena! That's a gunshot wound!"  
Helena gazed at her right shoulder as though just seeing the wound for the first time.  
"It's no big deal - went straight through."  
Barbara moved the strap of Helena's tank top, so she could get to the wound more easily. It was already showing small signs of healing. Barbara frowned. How long had Helena waited before coming back to the Clocktower? How long had she been out there on the balcony? Babara began the task of cleaning the wound. She gently dabbed antiseptic on the area. Helena didn't wince in pain, didn't flinch in annoyance like she usually did when Barbara had to patch her up. Instead, there was no reaction at all. What had happened out there? She didn't have to wait long for an answer.  
"I killed him," Helena blurted out. "I killed Sylvestri." 


	11. Part 11 Final Chapter

"I killed him."  
"I killed Sylvestri!"  
Barbara heard the words, but forced herself not to react. Instead she concentrated on cleaning and bandaging Helena's gunshot wound. Helena stared expectantly at Barbara, waiting for her to say something.anything. But Barbara stayed silent, acting as if she hadn't heard a thing Helena had said.  
"Barbara! Did you hear what I said?! I said I killed him!"  
Barbara glanced up quickly, then went back to work on the wound.  
"I heard you," she said, without emotion.  
Helena grabbed Barbara's hand as she taped gauze to affected area.  
"Then say something!"  
Barbara looked her in the eyes then, and Helena flinched at what she saw. The emerald eyes were smoldering with anger.  
"What do you want me to say, Helena?! You want me to tell you that I condone your actions?! You want me to say that I'm happy you went out there - alone - and did the one thing that I've always warned you against?! The one thing that we never do?! You want me to tell you that you were right?! Well, I'm sorry - I can't do that!"  
Helena shrank back from Barbara. Instinctively, she had known that this would be Barbara's response, but to actually witness it - she hadn't been prepared for that. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but never had the chance. Both women jumped at the sound of a scream from the bedroom.  
  
"Dinah!" Helena bolted into the room. She hurried to Dinah's bedside and gathered the weeping teen in her arms. "Shh, Dinah.it's over. Shhh. He can't hurt you anymore. Do you hear me?" She broke the embrace and gently lifted Dinah's chin so that their eyes met. "It's over. He won't ever hurt you again."  
Dinah stared into Helena's eyes, but she didn't actually see them. What she saw was flashes of Helena's memories. She saw Sylvestri, and though she couldn't hear his words, the sneer on his face told her all she needed to know. She saw him being attacked. Saw him lift the gun. Saw him laugh and say more. Then saw him beat to a bloody pulp. The final vision was of Sylvestri's neck being snapped and his body falling to the floor. Helena realized too late what Dinah had done. She tried to pull away, but Dinah held on firmly.  
"You killed him."  
It was more of a statement than a question. Conscious of Barbara watching over her, Helena nodded. She wasn't prepared for Dinah's response - the word spoken so ominously it sent chills down her spine.  
"Good."  
  
Helena walked into the now empty Dark Horse Bar and threw her jacket across a chair. She headed straight for the bar and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels, pouring herself a shot. Picking up the bottle and the glass, she walked over to a far table and sank into a chair. Helena tilted her head back and downed the shot. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.  
The memories of that night flashed unbidden. Nico Sylvestri's leering grin. The flash of the blade. Helena poured another drink and downed it. She poured another. Sylvestri's words replayed in her ears. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands.  
That cold steel blade sliding down her neck, caressing her collarbone, slicing button after button. that blade knew every inch, every curve of that girl. the tears pouring from those baby blues. God! SO sexy. I'll pay that gal another visit. She tasted so sweet.so pure.Was I her first?  
She banged her hand on the table.  
We don't kill.ever!  
She heard Sylvestri's neck snap, saw him fall.  
We don't kill!  
Then she saw Dinah, the look in her eyes when she knew Sylvestri was dead.  
You killed him.Good.  
"Fuck!" Helena hurled the bottle across the room. Grabbing her jacket she stormed out of the bar.  
  
Barbara sat at her computer station. She was staring at the monitor in front of her, but she wasn't really seeing it. She was seeing Helena as she was when Barbara found her on the balcony. Cold. Empty. Her voice flat, without feeling. When Helena had told her that she killed Sylvestri, it had been the first time there had been feeling in her voice.  
Barbara shook her head. Helena had known how Barbara would react. It was almost as if she had wanted Barbara to attack her - to punish her for what she had done. And Barbara had been more than willing to comply. She slammed her fist on the table, the force of the blow almost causing her now empty mug of tea to fall to the floor.  
Damn! She was hurting - I could see that! But I just had to jump all over her!  
Barbara was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Dinah walk into the room.  
"What are you doing up?" she asked.  
Barbara jumped.  
"Sorry," Dinah flashed a sheepish grin. "You okay?"  
"Yeah, I.I've just been thinking."  
"About Helena killing Sylvestri?"  
"That.and some other things," Barbara answered. Her eyes softened. "What about you, Dinah? Are you okay?"  
Dinah pulled up a stool and sat beside Barbara. She sat there for a few minutes, looking pensive.  
"I guess so." She turned to face Barbara. "At first, I felt this huge sense of relief. But now.the idea that I was relieved.well.Relief - isn't that wrong? I mean, I.we're not supposed to kill, right? So why was I so relieved that Helena had killed him?"  
Barbara placed a hand on Dinah's arm. "It was a normal reaction. Sylvestri's being dead means that he can't come back and hurt you, or anyone else. I can understand the way you felt." Barbara's eyes clouded over as she remembered her own attack. "Closure - I never had that when it came to Joker. Sure, he's locked away, but he has been locked away before. He's always found a way out. He could always come back." Barbara shook the thought from her mind, not wanting to face the pain - the old fears.  
Dinah nodded. "I guess you're right. I was worried about Helena going after him, but at the same time, I secretly hoped that she'd catch him." She was quiet for a moment. "You know, she left so quickly. I wonder if she's okay. It had to have been hard.what I saw." Her voice trailed off as she struggled with the memories of the brief flashes she'd received from Helena earlier.  
  
Helena stood in front of the door and wondered how she had ended up here. She'd wandered all over New Gotham, trying to lose herself, trying to forget. Her wanderings had brought her here - to the front door of Jesse Reese's apartment. She raised a hand to knock on the door, thought better of it, then knocked anyway.  
Reese opened the door, a look of surprise on his face. He hadn't expected to see Helena tonight after what he'd found in the restaurant.  
"Helena?"  
"Can I come in?" Her eyes pleaded with him to say yes.  
He stepped aside motioning her to enter. He watched as she walked past, shoulders slumped, head down. He hadn't seen her like this in a long time. It scared him a little. Helena sank down onto his couch and rested her head in her hands. Jesse walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of her.  
"Hey. You okay?" Receiving no answer, Reese knelt before Helena. Gently moving her hands from her face, he peered into tear-filled eyes.  
"I killed him," Helena said in a vice so tiny, Reese had to strain to hear.  
  
"He was a scumbag, Helena. Not someone to get teary over."  
"You don't understand!" The tears spilled over, tracing their way down Helena's cheeks unchecked. "I killed! We don't kill! Barbara's said it so many times.but.he kept talking about what he did to her. I kept picturing how I found her. All I could think about was how much I wanted him to pay. I couldn't stop.I tried, but I.just.couldn't.stop!"  
Reese gathered her in his arms as she cried. He held her tightly, whispering comforting words, his heart breaking with each sob. After a couple of moments, Reese pulled away slightly. Reaching out a hand to gently cup Helena's chin, he lifted her face so that their eyes met. Still whispering soothing words, he gently wiped away her tears. In her eyes he saw pain and despair. He wished he could wipe that away as well. He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. She leaned into the kiss, closing her eyes.  
Reese trailed kisses slowly, ever-so-gently down her face - one eyelid, then the other, her nose, finally resting on her lips. They parted, inviting him in. Their kisses were passionate. Helena sank into his embrace, needing to feel his arms around her. She'd felt so alone until she'd come here, until she'd seen the caring in his eyes. She drank it in - the love she saw there - made it her own. She never wanted it to end. Their passion grew more intense, driven by Helena's desperate need for love and Jesse's desire to fulfill that very need. Helena knew that if she stayed, that intensity would grow. She had no desire to leave.  
  
Barbara watched the sun rise over New Gotham from the balcony of the Clocktower. She was alone with her thoughts - Dinah was still sleeping. It was the first time she'd slept peacefully in a long time and Barbara had no intentions of waking her. Besides, she needed this time alone. She needed to think about the way she'd treated Helena, about the way she had reacted last night. Talking to Dinah had stirred up old feelings - feelings she had thought she'd dealt with long ago.  
Barbara had always felt proud of the fact that Batman had held himself back during his last battle with the Joker. With all of the pain the Joker had subjected him to, Batman had refused to kill him. Barbara had admired the strength it must have taken for him to do that. She'd thought about that a lot. Had talked about it with Helena. Had drilled it into her - We don't kill.no matter how evil. She must have told Helena this a million times. So, Barbara's first instinctive response to Helena's admission was anger - pure, unadulterated fury.  
But now, she'd had time to think about it. Now she'd had time to remember how she'd felt after Joker had shot her; had raped her. How she still felt deep down. She'd wanted him to suffer for the pain, the anguish, the indignity of it all. She'd wanted him to pay. She'd wanted him dead - yes, dead - that was the simple truth and there was no denying it.  
Watching Dinah go through the pain and suffering Barbara had endured all those years ago had been difficult for Barbara. She'd wanted to comfort Dinah, but more than that, Barbara had wanted to get her hands on Dinah's attacker.  
And just what would I have done if I had?  
That was the question that had plagued Barbara ever since her tirade last night. And after her talk with Dinah, Barbara realized that she already knew the answer. She had told Dinah that the relief she had felt at Sylvestri's death was normal, a direct result of the feeling of closure. Dinah knew that she was as safe from Sylvestri as she could ever hope to be. That the only demons left were in her mind. He couldn't come back for her - couldn't hurt her again. Barbara had realized in that moment that closure was something she'd never had. That the demons in her mind were actually real - Joker could still come for her.  
Barbara sighed. She had always praised Batman's strength for how he'd dealt with Joker that night at the docks. She'd sympathized with his pain after what had happened to her and Selina. But as she sat here thinking, she realized that a part of her was angry with Batman. Angry because he hadn't stayed. Angry because she'd needed closure and he hadn't even tried to give that to her. Angry because he hadn't tracked Joker down and destroyed him.  
As Barbara sat there, realization dawning on her like the new day, she got the distinct impression she was being watched. She turned to find Helena leaning in the doorway, a look of caution clouding her features. Barbara smiled and beckoned for Helena to join her. Helena hesitated at first, remembering last night and Barbara's angry words. But, looking at Barbara sitting there now, Helena could find no trace of yesterday's anger. She walked over to the balcony and leaned against the railing beside Barbara.  
"You took off pretty quickly last night," Barbara said.  
"I.I didn't think you wanted me around." The look on Helena's face was a mixture of regret, pain, and fear - an emotion Helena didn't display often. It hurt Barbara to see Helena this way - lost, alone.  
She's afraid I won't want her back - that I'll tell her to leave. She needs to know that's not the case.  
"Ya' know, I tried calling your apartment last night."  
"Yeah? Um.well.I.uh.wasn't home." Helena looked away and Barbara arched an eyebrow.  
"Aren't you gonna ask what time I called. Or did you stay out all night?"  
"It was a long night."  
Barbara was amused at the fact that Helena couldn't meet her gaze. Instinctively, she knew where Helena ended up last night just based upon her evasive behavior right now.  
Well, at least someone had been there for her. I sure as hell wasn't!  
Barbara sighed, drawing an inquisitive look from Helena. Barbara wanted to apologize to Helena, wanted the girl to know that she was still wanted - still loved. Barbara wanted Helena to know that her initial response had been a gut reaction and that she had judged Helena unfairly. She just didn't know where to begin.  
Why is it always so damned difficult to admit when I'm wrong!  
"Helena.last night.I.I said some things." Barbara could see the look in Helena's eyes - the pleading - Don't abandon me, too! - they screamed.  
She ought to know by now that I would never do that.  
"Helena, when you told me about Sylvestri - about what you had done - I.I reacted badly. I was.It was wrong of me to judge you that way. My first instinct was to be angry with you for violating the code - that unwritten code that Batman had lay down for me all those years ago. We don't kill. I was amazed at the strength of his convictions - that he could stick with his no kill policy that night in the dockyards, even after all that Joker had done. I was in awe. And so I taught you the same rule - never kill, no matter the evil.  
"But not everyone can live by that code all the time. After seeing you with Dinah -her relief at what you had done - I sat and thought about what I'd said to you. I'd said those things without placing myself in your position - without knowing exactly what I would have done. That was wrong of me, Helena.  
"Because I thought about it after you left - what I would have done. I thought about what the Joker had done to me. I thought about Dinah and how it made me feel to watch her go through that same hell. And I realized something, Helena. I realized that if I had been able to get my hands on that Bastard." She shook her head. ".If I had the opportunity, I think I may have done the same thing."  
Helena stood stunned, speechless - she hadn't been prepared for Barbara's admission. She had always thought her mentor to be above such thoughts, such things. She couldn't picture Barbara ever doing what she had done. Helena shook her head, and when she could find her voice, told Barbara so, "You would never have killed him."  
"Helena, Dinah told me what she had seen when she 'touched' you.and I can guess at the rest. He taunted and goaded you. That on top of your feelings of guilt at what had happened - the blame you placed on yourself - and the pain that you'd been watching Dinah go through.it all came to a head in that moment. And, as much as you may not want to believe it, the fact of the matter is, that if I was there - if I was in that situation - I wouldn't have stopped until I was certain that there was no way he could hurt Dinah or anyone else again."  
Tears flowed from Helena's eyes as she absorbed the words of her mentor. She wasn't evil. She wasn't an abomination - a disgrace. Barbara reached out to Helena and she gladly sank into her mentor's arms, relishing in their warm comfort.  
  
Epilogue:  
  
Helena found Dinah in the lab, catching up on her studies. It had been weeks since Sylvestri had sealed his fate. Dinah had been back to school and was seeing a counselor for the past couple of weeks. She still had some issues to resolve, but things were starting to return to some semblance of normalcy - as normal as it could get for a teenage crime fighter anyway.  
"Hey there, kiddo? What're you studyin'?"  
"The advanced stages of bio-molecular."  
"Never mind," Helena interrupted. "I really don't have the patience for techno-babble from you and Barbara.'  
They laughed - Helena thinking how good it was to hear Dinah laugh again.  
"Listen, Dinah, there's been something I wanted to talk to you about." She hesitated, not sure where to begin. "Was.Was Sylvestri..Had you ever."  
Dinah's eyes grew dark as she realized what question Helena was stumbling over. She looked down and shook her head.  
"No.I never." Her voice was barely a whisper.  
Helena pulled up a chair and sat down next to the teen, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
"Dinah, listen to me. What Sylvestri did.it was horrible. But.you need to know.sex.well.it doesn't have to be that way. It can be such a beautiful experience - with someone you love. You need to know that, Dinah. You can't let what he did to you keep you from knowing that - from experiencing that some day."  
Dinah looked into Helena's earnest eyes and suddenly knew that she was speaking the truth - the truth as she had come to know it. Helena had been speaking from experience - she had been speaking from her heart.  
"You.and Jesse.?"  
Helena blushed, but her eyes never wavered from Dinah's.  
"It can be beautiful, Dinah. Always remember."  
Helena flashed her a grin that lit up the room.  
"And by the way," she pulled away from the girl, "new rule - no using of powers to spy on my love life!"  
Barbara smiled as she passed a room that suddenly burst with laughter. The worst was behind them..for now... 


End file.
